Chapter Twenty-Three Concealment

  Lin Daguang's housekeeper was wearing only a cool sleeping gown, his whole body covered in blood, and his body flew from the front yard to the courtyard like a cannonball, rolling twice on the ground before making no more sound.

  At the same time, the little leopard let out a loud scream, using all its strength to scream. It was indeed very scared and didn't want to die inexplicably here.

  While shouting, the leopard darted into the house. He knew that inside the house there was a small back window, and as long as he could squeeze out of it, he wouldn't be in too much danger.

  However, the danger he imagined did not come. After the leopard cub entered the house, it startled all three people awake, and then there was a commotion of chickens flying and dogs jumping, torches lit up, and the originally quiet iron shop gradually became noisy. After a while, several cries were heard again in the yard, and then slowly subsided.

  The little leopard didn't jump out of that back window after all, because the murderer wasn't interested in him at all.

  The murderer's target was obvious, Lin Daguai and Lao Xing Tou, both of whom are now dead.

  Compared to Lin Daguai, Lao Xing Tou died more miserably. His body was cut in two by a sharp blade, and at the moment of his death, he still held a dark iron hammer in his left hand, with eyes wide open, refusing to close them even in death.

  Although Lao Xing's abnormal behavior in recent months had given Xiao Bao some bad ideas, he never thought the outcome would be so tragic. Seeing Lao Xing's corpse, Xiao Bao felt a surge of sadness and regret. Although they hadn't spent much time together, Xiao Bao had unknowingly come to regard Lao Xing as a benevolent mentor. He had taught him many things, just like a senior teacher, imparting all his knowledge, skills, and understanding to Xiao Bao. He hoped that Xiao Bao could pass the Wu family's selection and fulfill his wishes, but before he could see this day come true, he died in such a tragic manner. This made Xiao Bao feel terrible inside, and of course, he also hated the unknown murderer with all his heart.

  "In ten years, at most ten years, I will definitely find you and split you in two like today!"

  The little leopard made a silent vow in his heart, but what happened next made him dare not to reveal his thoughts, nor even a hint of sadness.

  Lin Dagu and Lao Xing were the masters of the Wu family's ironworks in Qingyang Village. Their deaths caused a huge stir, and the government office couldn't afford to be slow in handling the case, after all, they were people from the Wu family. A thorough investigation was conducted with great fanfare. As the first eyewitness at the scene, Xiao Baozi was also called in for questioning several times, with an air of determination to bring the murderer to justice.

  It's strange to say, but after the new steward and craftsman appeared in Qingyang Village, this matter was quickly suppressed, defined as the work of bandits. The new steward and craftsman even found a large amount of evidence that Lin Dapeng and Lao Xing had embezzled money from Wu Jia's iron shop during their time in Qingyang Village, which surprised everyone. After some time passed, the matter slowly faded away, except for being used as conversation material after meals, no one mentioned it again.

  Such a result made Little Leopard vigilant and sensed a hint of conspiracy.

  Generally speaking, in a big family like the Wu's, if something like this happens, it's not just that they would try to cover it up by themselves, even if the officials in the government were slightly slow to react, they wouldn't let it go. If they didn't do so, how could they show off the dignity and face of their family? Is there another family like the Wu's?

  There is only one explanation for this, which is that Wu's family wants to cover up the matter, so they will do it like this.

  Why want to cover up?

  The little leopard didn't know, and he also didn't want to know. At least not now, before he had the ability to protect himself.

  After a period of time, things calmed down and the little leopard returned to its usual quiet life. Because Lao Xing had made an effort to clear himself of any relationship with the little leopard beforehand, he didn't get into any trouble except for being called in by the prefecture to answer a few questions. Moreover, his natural talent was quite good, so among this group of apprentices, he gradually won the trust and favor of the new master craftsman.

  It's just like a primary school for little leopards, teachers always favor students with good grades, even if they change to a different class or teacher it's still the same.

  So, Little Leopard's life was still quite comfortable and smooth, unlike Old Xing's crippled right hand. This new craftsman, Qin Xuanlong, was a true third-grade martial artist and craftsman in his prime, with exceptional martial arts skills and expertise in hidden weapons. He was particularly skilled at throwing flying darts, and Little Leopard had once seen him flick his wrist and hit the bullseye of a target over 100 meters away with three consecutive darts, leaving him deeply envious.

  Qin Xuanlong, on the other hand, was because Xiaobao's aptitude was really too high, those nine-style hammer methods and several sets of skin-practicing fist methods were not difficult for him at all. So he simply passed on the technique of hidden weapons and flying darts to Xiaobao, anyway, this wasn't some kind of divine skill or ultimate art.

  "Thud, thud, thud!" Three throwing knives hit the bullseye of the target board with a loud noise.

  "Good, good, good!" Qin Xuanlong exclaimed on the side, his face revealing a look of admiration that he couldn't help but show.

  He has been teaching apprentices for over a decade, but he has never seen a disciple with such good qualifications and aptitude as Xiao Bao. To mention nothing else, just the flying dart alone, in less than three months of practice, he had already mastered all the techniques by heart. The darts he shot out were always on target, even from thirty zhang away, he could hit the bullseye with his eyes closed. This made him feel both delighted and ashamed at the same time.

  Because he has practiced for over a decade, he has reached the current state of Little Leopard.

  "No wonder Old Xing was particularly impressed with this kid back then. Who wouldn't be? He's only eight years old, and his future is truly boundless. The selection process for the imperial examination will be a breeze for him, and he'll likely surpass us in achievements later on. As long as we treat him well now, when he becomes successful, he might just take care of us too." With this thought in mind, Qin Xuanlong's guidance towards Xiao Bao became even more diligent, as if he was pouring his heart out to the young boy.

  "Master, these are a few knives I've been forging recently, take a look, how are they?"

  After a day's training, the little leopard took out several snowflake-shaped dishes from the smelting room and presented them to Qin Xuanlong with a treasured look. After all, in a certain sense, for apprentices like them, martial arts were only secondary, while ironwork was their main profession.

  "Oh——!" Qin Xuanlong also seemed to realize this at this time and took over the kitchen knife handed over by Xiao Baozi.

  "Huh?!" Qin Xuanlong, who had not been paying much attention, casually wiped the snow-bright blade with his hand, and then his fingers suddenly popped up, a thread of blood seeping out from his fingertips.

  "What a sharp blade?!" Qin Xuanlong was shocked in his heart, and with a swing of both hands, the knife flew towards the wooden stake on the side to test the blade.

  "Snap!" In an instant, the wooden stake split into two segments, causing Qin Xuan's eyebrows to jump in shock.